Plans to expand wind energy into the most scenic parts of Germany are meeting increasing opposition across the country.
Anti-wind campaigners are angry that areas including the forests made famous by the tales of the Brothers Grimm are among the targets for new turbines (涡轮机). For the first time they have formed a national opposition group to thwart the expansion. They say the expansion will damage forests and tourism across the country.
Germany has started a massive expansion of renewable energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan. The government decided to reduce atomic plants and instead increase the opportunities for green power. As a result, solar farms, biogas plants and wind parks are booming. In 2013, 22% of Germany’s electricity was generated by renewable energy. Wind has played a major part in this change, making up half of the renewable energy in 2013, and the public has been generally supportive. To date, a majority of the 23,000 wind turbines in the country have been built in the flat northern and eastern parts of the country. But now the focus of expansion is on the areas of dark forest in the central and southern areas of Germany.
One such region is the Rheinhardswald in the northern part of the state of Hesse. This is the home of the magical tales of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and others, made famous in the books of the Brothers Grimm. This scenic place is a magnet, attracting hundreds and thousands of tourists from all over the world. But now there are also plans to build up to 200 turbines in this scenic place!
Ann-Kathrin Blankenberg is a PhD student and an opponent of the plans. “It is not because this is the area of Sleeping Beauty,” she says, “I want the green movement, I want green technology, I don’t want nuclear power--- but they should be made in the right way and not by destroying the forests.”
The campaigners argue that putting wind turbines in this area makes no sense. The wind speeds are low and the area is home to some extremely rare birds including the endangered black stork. Campaigners say building turbines here would be disastrous for the birds.Which of the following does NOT belong to green power? _____.
| A．Solar energy | B．Wind energy |
| C．Bio-energy | D．Atomic energy |
What percentage of Germany’s electricity was generated by wind in 2013? _____.
| A．11% | B．22% | C．50% | D．60% |
What can be inferred from the passage? _____.
| A．The author is against building more wind turbines. |
| B．The public prefers wind energy to nuclear energy. |
| C．Most Germans object to building wind turbines all over Germany. |
| D．The central and southern areas of Germany are rich in wind energy. |
What is the main idea of the passage? _____.
| A．Wind parks are increasing rapidly all over Germany. |
| B．The Rheinhardswald is famous for the tales of Sleeping Beauty. |
| C．Expanding wind energy into the land of Sleeping Beauty causes controversy. |
| D．Building wind turbines in the land of Sleeping Beauty area makes no sense. |
There are two factors which determine an individual's intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ considerably, some being more capable than others. But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn. So the second factor is what happens to the individual—the sort of environment in which he is reared (培养). If an individual is handicapped (妨碍) environmentally, it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.
The importance of environment in determining an individual's intelligence can be demonstrated by the case history of the identical twins, Peter and Mark X. Being identical, the twins had identical brains at birth, and their growth processes were the same. When the twins were three months old, their parents died, and they were placed in separate foster homes. Peter was reared by parents of low intelligence in an isolated community with poor educational opportunities. Mark was reared in the home of well-to-do parents who had been to college. He was read to as a child, sent to good schools, and given every opportunity to be stimulated intellectually. This environmental difference continued until the twins were in their late teens, when they were given tests to measure their intelligence. Mark's I.Q. was 125, twenty-five points higher than the average and fully forty points higher than his identical brother. Given equal opportunities, the twins, having identical brains, would have tested at roughly the same level.This passage can be best titled_________.
| A．Intelligence and Environment |
| B．Measuring Your Intelligence |
| C．The Case of Peter and Mark |
| D．How the brain Influences Intelligence |
According to the passage, the average I.Q. is _____.
| A．85 | B．125 | C．110 | D．100 |
The case history of the twins appears to support the conclusion that _______.
| A．individual with identical brains seldom test at same level |
| B．an individual's intelligence is determined only by his environment |
| C．changes of environment produce changes in the structure of the brain |
| D．lack of opportunity blocks the growth of intelligence |
This passage suggests that an individual's I.Q.______.
| A．can be increased by education |
| B．stays the same throughout his life |
| C．can be predicted at birth |
| D．is determined by his childhood |
There are many places around the city and online to buy Las Vegas show tickets. With dozens of websites you can find at home, ticket box offices, Tix 4 Tonight (one of the two half-price ticket sellers) locations, and ticket sellers along the Las Vegas trip, you might wonder where you could find your best deal.
Major Shows
If you want to see one of the top shows in Las Vegas, you could buy your tickets online before your trip. Many of these shows sell out months ahead of time, so make sure you do your research.
Best Place to Buy Discounted (打折的) Tickets
If you want discounted tickets for Las Vegas shows, you should go to one of the four Tix 4 Tonight locations. These locations get tickets early in the morning or throughout the day if shows are not sold out. Do not expect to find discounted tickets here for the hottest shows in town such as one-night concerts or shows like Celine Dion’s. These seldom make their way to Tix 4 Tonight.
Coupon books (代金劵)
As you walk along the Las Vegas Strip, you are going to come across people handing out the Vegas Values coupon books or other coupons. These may help you find discounted coupons for various shows around town. Tickets bought with coupons have to be bought at the box office for the show. These are usually located near the theater used for the show.
On-Strip Sellers
If you see people standing on the Strip selling show tickets, make sure you avoid them. While a few of these sellers might be legitimate (合法的)，they often cheat people by selling counterfeit (伪造的) tickets.
Catching a show in Las Vegas is one of the various activities people take part in every single day. While there is not one set place to be the best to buy tickets, make sure you get to see the show you want.If you want to see Celine Dion’s performance, you should buy the tickets __ _____.
| A．from the tickets sellers along the Strip |
| B．through online shopping |
| C．at the Tix 4 Tonight locations |
| D．on the day of the performance |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing this text?
| A．To introduce various Las Vegas shows. |
| B．To introduce the interesting places in Las Vegas. |
| C．To tell people the ways of getting Las Vegas show tickets. |
| D．To tell people the advantage of getting tickets online. |
In which part of a newspaper could we find the text?
| A．Business. | B．News. | C．Travel. | D．Sports. |
A sandstorm, also known as a dust storm, is exactly what it sounds like. A very strong windstorm especially in the desert carries clouds of sand or dust that greatly reduces visibility. This wind is usually caused by convection currents (对流气流), which are created by intense heating of the ground, and is usually strong enough to move entire sand dunes. Air is unstable when heated, and this instability in the air will cause higher winds to mix with winds in the lower atmosphere, producing strong surface winds.
Sandstorms can disturb people’s travel, and can sometimes destroy whole roads, and dry flat areas. Similar dust storms can be found on the planet Mars, and are thought to be seasonal. Today, the destruction of forests and too much farming of farmland can lead to sandstorms. Too much use of water resources can also cause sandstorms.
In the United States of America, sandstorms are rare because of the lack of large deserts and more importantly the development of proper agricultural techniques. The last recorded destructive sandstorm in American history was the Dust Bowl, which occurred on July 16, 1971 and was widely recorded by meteorologists (气象学家).
To protect themselves from sandstorms, some people wear protective suits. Special equipment can be fixed in some cars to prevent sand from getting into the engine. Sandstorms can cause coughs, and the sand and dust has also been known to carry “infectious diseases”. Sand particles, unlike dust ones, will block air passages, and cause a person who breathes them in to choke. Dust particles may cause an allergic (过敏的) reaction.Which of the following plays the first part in forming sandstorms?
| A．The instability of the sand. |
| B．The instability of the wind. |
| C．The intense heating of the ground. |
| D．The speed of the wind. |
From the second paragraph, we can learn that at present _______.
| A．sandstorms are more often seen on Mars than on Earth |
| B．sandstorms have led to the lack of clean water resources |
| C．farming brings more harm than benefits to humans |
| D．human activities are a major cause of sandstorms |
The author will most probably agree that ________.
| A．there will soon be no sandstorms in the USA |
| B．humans haven’t thought of any way to deal with sandstorms |
| C．death caused by sandstorms is increasing all the time |
| D．humans should make more efforts to stop soil turning into desert |
Let’s say you have a piece of wood, a nail, and a hammer. Pretend the wood is a person, and the nail is a mean rumor(谣言) about that person. If you hammer in the nail, you’re obviously hurting him or her. If you then pull out the nail, there’s still a hole in the wood, and the damage has been done.
There are many reasons why that nail of a rumor can be so harmful. Rumors are, quite simply, a form of bullying(欺侮). When a person or a group makes up a rumor about someone or decides to spread gossip, it’s usually to hurt someone, break up a friendship, or make someone less popular. It’s the same thing as teasing, only it’s done behind someone’s back instead of to his or her face.
When you spread a rumor about someone, you’re sending a signal that the person is outside of the group, and somehow less worthy of friendship than others. You’re making fun of that person or pointing out negative things about him or her. This can let others think that it’s okay to make the person feel bad, and make him or her an outsider.
We need to be able to trust our friends, and gossip and rumors can break this trust. If you tell a personal secret to a friend, and he turns around and tells it to someone else, you might feel like you will get burned if you ever get close to him again.
Letting a rumor influence your behavior is like letting someone else make a big decision for you. Let’s say you hear that the teacher plans to call a Snow Day tomorrow because a blizzard (暴风雪) is coming. Expecting a day off, you don’t do your homework. The next morning, the blizzard turns out to be nothing more than a drizzle(毛毛雨), and school isn’t off after all. You get zeroes on your work. To tell a rumor and a tease apart, you depend on ______.
| A．whether it is done behind someone |
| B．whether it is painful or not |
| C．whether it is a kind of bullying |
| D．whether it is spread fast. |
If a rumor is spread about someone, others may_______.
| A．point out his or her advantages |
| B．keep away from him or her |
| C．not feel he or she is an outsider |
| D．be hurt if getting close to him or her again. |
The purpose of this passage is to _______.
| A．advise on how to deal with rumors |
| B．teach us how to judge a rumor |
| C．find out why rumors spread fast |
| D．explain why rumors hurt |
Last spring, members of Alaska’s Troop 34, based in Fairbanks, trudged (跋涉) out into the snowy wilderness to take part in their state’s Take a Kid Trapping program. In many parts of the state, beavers （海狸）are pests and need to be controlled.
The 10－to－12－year－old girls found out where beavers lived, set traps, and skinned the two animals they caught. The girls hope to catch ten more beavers so that the entire troop can make mittens and hats with the fur. They also want to cook beaver meat.
Troop leaders and members say the Scouts are doing a good deed by helping control the state’s beaver population. But animal－rights activists say trapping is cruel. They want the Girl Scouts to stop in their tracks.
Beavers aren’t only causing a problem in Alaska. Residents in Sampson County, N.C., have turned to a local committee to help them battle the growing beaver population there.
County landowners are frustrated after the county spent more than $ 50,000 in eight years trying to reduce the beaver population through a government program. The joint state and federal program included paying money to trappers for every beaver carcass they trapped.
Many local residents say that the program didn’t work because there were too few trappers. That’s why the county set up its own committee to investigate other ways to control the area’s beaver population.
The county will rely on its own beaver－trapping program. It has hired a trapper to set traps in various areas. The county will pay $10 for every beaver carcass.
Why do many people say that beavers are a nuisance? For beavers to survive, they need lots of water. Water provides the large rodent （啮齿动物）with a place to hide from meat – eating animals. Beavers also store food underwater for the winter. When there’s not enough water in a particular area, beavers get busy building dams.
Beaver dams can cause major flooding and damage to the surrounding countryside as the animals cut down trees to use in their construction projects. Beavers build canals to transport heavy objects.What is Alaska’s Troop 34?
| A．A team of the Boy Scouts. | B．An army. |
| C．A team of the Girl Scouts. | D．A sports team. |
Why does the troop hope to catch ten more beavers?
| A．To fulfill their task. |
| B．To sell them for money. |
| C．To get enough fur. |
| D．To exchange them for mittens and hats. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Sampson County has to find a new way to control the beaver population there. |
| B．The government program in Sampson County has proved to be a success. |
| C．The local government has controlled the number of beavers in the County. |
| D．More and more trappers now start to set traps in Sampson County. |
Local residents hate beavers because they can ___________.
| A．cause damage to dams |
| B．block up canals with heavy objects. |
| C．do great harm to construction projects. |
| D．badly damage the environment and cause floods. |